Tuesday, 7 October 2014

Uhuru Kenyatta transfer presidential power to Ruto to appear at ICC in The Hague

Uhuru Kenyatta is temporarily stepping down as president

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has confirmed he will be appearing at the International Criminal Court in The Hague this week.

He told parliament that his deputy, William Ruto, would be in charge during his absence.

Mr Kenyatta faces charges of organising ethnic massacres that
killed 1,200 people after the 2007 elections - something he denies.

The 8 October hearing is due to set a date for his trial to begin.

The ICC had summoned him to appear to explain allegations that evidence against him had been withheld.

In September, the court postponed the trial after prosecutors
said the Kenyan government had failed to deliver key documents.
Witnesses for the prosecution have withdrawn from the case.

Dozens of Kenyan MPs are expected to travel to The Hague to back Mr Kenyatta at the status hearing.

Mr Kenyatta said he would be going to The Hague in a personal
capacity - not as president - so as not to compromise the sovereignty
of Kenya's 40 million people.

William Ruto (right) also faces charges at the Hague

"To protect the sovereignty of the Kenyan republic, I now take
the extraordinary and unprecedented step of evoking article 1473 of the
constitution and I will shortly issue the legal notice necessary to
appoint honourable William Ruto, the deputy president, as acting
president while I attend the status conference at The Hague in the
Netherlands," he said.

He again stressed his innocence: "I wish to reiterate here
for all that my conscience is clear, has been clear and will remain
forever clear that I am innocent of all the accusations that have been
levelled against me.

"After all this, the prosecutor of the ICC has since last
December and as recently as last month, admitted to the judges that the
available evidence is insufficient to prove alleged criminal
responsibility beyond reasonable doubt."

There had been growing doubts as to whether Mr Kenyatta would
become the first sitting president to attend the court. He had already
been to the ICC before becoming president in 2013.

The violence left 1,200 people dead and displaced tens of thousands more

Mr Kenyatta faces five charges relating to the ethnic massacres
- the worst violence in Kenya since independence in 1963. Tens of
thousands of people were displaced and Kenya's reputation for stability
was tarnished.

Mr Kenyatta was a close ally of President Mwai Kibaki, who
was declared the winner of the 2007 election. Mr Kibaki's rival, Raila
Odinga, claimed the poll was marred by fraud.

The dispute took on an ethnic dimension, pitting members of
the Kikuyu ethnic group of Mr Kenyatta and Mr Kibaki against other
communities. Mr Kenyatta is accused of organising an ethnic Kikuyu gang,
the Mungiki sect, to attack rival groups.

Vice-President Ruto also faces charges at The Hague, but he
was on Mr Odinga's side during the violence. He also denies the charges.